Caught 'em

Hard to believe the girls probably use our phones more than we do (okay to be honest it is just John's phone). And no, they don't make phone calls but play games. It is usually the first thing they ask for in the morning and anytime they see myself or John using the phone.

One morning I was able to catch them fighting over a game and who's turn it was. The game - Angry Birds - a new found addiction...even for mom!

It may not look like they are fighting in the picture but believe me the claws were out :)

Summer vacation...final leg

The last part of our summer vacation was actually, well, a staycation. However, we still managed to get out to do somethings we hadn't done before. One of which was take the tour at the Hoover Dam. It's funny that after all the years of living in Las Vegas and Northern Arizona with trips to Las Vegas, I've never stopped to explore the dam. And now that they have finished the bypass bridge, it gave me even more reason to make it one of our destinations this summer.

The tour started out with a short video on the history of making the dam then followed up by an elevator ride down into the earth and power plant. The girls had fun too. Especially, Tahlor. The tour guide allowed Tahlor to select the different levels in the elevator that we were to visit. Post tour, we wondered around the souvenir shop, picking up a nice commemorative coin and our family photo superimposed over an image of the dam. We also checked the exhibits. There was an upper level that served as an observation area and we captured some nice images outside of the dam and bridge. Across the street we found a great show about the water system within the southwest states which including a large, mapped exhibit.

After leaving the dam, I requested that we drive over the new bridge just to say we did. It was disappointing though because you could hardly notice that you were on a bridge and you cannot see the dam or anything for that matter.

 Underneath us here is one of the several canals of water that are coming from Lake Mead and getting ready to pass through the power generators.

 This is what it was like to walk through the side of the mountains to get to different areas of the power plant.

 The area where the generators are!

 The Hoover Dam, of course.

 The girls cooperating to take a picture at the observation level.

A glimpse of the bridge.

Sunshine and sandy cheeks

Huntington Beach. summertime. perfect weather. Ingredients for a spectacular sunny vacation. California is a convenient destination getaway, perfect for us desert dwellers (and many from the rest of the nation I am sure). This is the first leg of our summer vacation. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the sun (without melting), ocean breeze and our family.

Tahlor enjoyed running through the beached tides. One caught us by surprise and ended up taking her out while mom hung on tight. She even played nicely with little sis and all of the sand toys.

Lauren enjoyed many attempts at making sandcastle components. She was intimidated by the ocean but even though she did not hang out at the shore, mom made sure she at least gave her little piggies a dip in the Pacific. Lauren expressed to me a couple of times that she was dirty because of the sand that was sticking to her skin - so cute! I assured her that we would clean off after our visit at the beach.

John and Tahlor shore side.

I took a bunch of pictures while Tahlor played in the surf...reminds me of the last time we were at the beach. I can't explain the pose(s) but she is such a cutie.

Lauren - don't you love that smile?

Oops! :) Don't you hate it when sand ends up in places it shouldn't be?

Spring Break: Part Two

Here are the girls and I heading out to our next adventure. Okay, it may not have fooled you but, it is a clever picture. We spotted this family (next to a real Volvo) just outside the entrance to Legoland! Yes, this family is constructed of legos and quite cute I might add. BTW - if you own a Volvo and go to Legoland you get some special parking. Whoopee.

They recently opened the Star Wars mini-land and we spotted this great display of Star Wars completely constructed of sand. Of course, someone from our group had to be in the shot, Tahlor. :)

Part of the Legoland adventure was seeing their aquarium and it was part of the packaged ticket deal. The aquarium was ok but the lego Spongebob Squarepants was definitely the highlight.

Even Lauren got to ride on a couple of the rides. See if you can spot her on this kiddo airplane ride. She loved it so much and because it was early and not too busy, she was able to ride it multiple times in a row. I told John that she is destined to be our roller coaster child!

Another kiddo ride. I am seeing a trend here...John is the designated chaperon on the kid rides :) Wait! is that corn growing in the background there? Hah!

John and Tahlor battle against other Legoland goers in this high action firefighter game/ride. Tahlor is difficult to see but she is across from John in the blue shirt. They are both pumping this bar that operates the fire truck they are in.

We also visited the water park (part of the ticket package). That didn't last too long because it was not that warm and it was windy outside. Brrrrrrrr! Tahlor went on a couple of roller coasters and her experience compared to our last trip to Disneyland was much better. There was one coaster that she went on twice in a row. One time with me and then another with dad. I liked the park overall but I have to say that it does not come close to Disneyland. So, hopefully we will be going there before year's end.